Category Archives: General
6 months old
i can hardly believe. jacob is six months old today.
i thought i just brought him home from the hospital yesterday.
currently fighting a bad cold, he is still all smiles.
his favorite siblings: caleb & abby.
his favorite pastime: gnawing (on anything and everything).
his favorite activity: roaming on his newly-owned walker.
his favorite people to see: everyone he recognizes.
his big-boy moment: when his two bottom teeth surfaced three days ago!
happy 6-months, jacob! i’m SO blessed to have you. i can’t wait to watch you go through every stage in life just like your brother and sister. i love you.
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with a thankful heart, i give you this
honestly, i can’t believe thanksgiving is in two days. 2011 has been one of the most frustrating, adventurous, rewarding, best and worst year for me. in a way, i am glad it is coming to an end. but then again, i want to savor every last bit of this year.
here’s what i mean.
ever since our cross-country move, my life had been consisted of doing laundry, late night feedings, diaper changes, establishing a new routine for the two older kids (and for me as well), cooking, doing the dishes, unpacking from our boxes and everything else in between. at a place where we currently call ‘home’. ben had officially resigned from the LAPD and we both were forced to become familiar with his brand new work schedule; this meant not seeing each other much during the week. at times, my temper would grow thin from dealing with three children 5 and under all by myself for the whole entire day. when ben finally did come home at the end of the day he would be so tired that all he wanted to do was to find his pillow and nothing else mattered much. the only way to keep me sane–making images and blogging–became impossible. i hardly had the time to even shower. i became frustrated when i realized that i really didn’t even have 5 minutes in a day to myself. in the midst of all this business, strangely, i have had the opportunity to hear the voice of my heavenly father often. it has been so loud and clear.
he’s telling me to persevere.
he’s telling me to trust him.
he’s telling me it’s not an accident i am where i am in life today.
he’s telling me to slow down, and to live one day at a time.
he’s telling me to look around.
he’s telling me to keep going.
he’s telling me to love, even when it’s difficult.
he’s telling me that he is.
he’s telling me even though i can’t see clearly what’s ahead of me, he is there.
i have not felt this close to him in a long time. it sounds ironic but because life had been quite difficult to handle the past few months, to me, his love had never felt so real and solid. i can almost reach out and touch it. there is no other love that i can completely rest my hopes in. the only driving force that kept me going when i wanted to give up was knowing that he is that light at the end of this tunnel. and i want to remember this. i want to savor every last bit of this closeness.
my good friend molly wrote to me recently and it hit home:
god uses our circumstances to draw ourselves closer to him and to show our dependence on him.
i know that if it weren’t for his strength, i wouldn’t have made it this far. i couldn’t have made it this far.
2011 had been quite a year. but there is also so much i am thankful for. SO MUCH.
happy thanksgiving. xoxo
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from los angeles to home | 10 on 10
(this month, i have decided to join some very talented photographers for a fun little project called 10 on 10. for me, the purpose of this project is to use 10 images that i took the past month to tell a story. please head over to Sara Tegman | St Louis Family Photographer to see her 10 on 10 for october. 
)
the first time we talked seriously about going back home was earlier this year. at the time, we had just celebrated another christmas and new year without family. being two and a half months pregnant, we were about to become a family of five. i remember thinking, how much longer could we do this? it had been nearly five years since we packed everything up and moved cross-country. caleb, my oldest, was just a few weeks old as we said our goodbyes to our loved ones. even though we made spending summers back home a priority each year, it had become increasingly hard each time we parted. phone calls, texting and skype solved our homesickness temporarily. good friends and fellowship in so-cal did made going through life easier. but nothing could ever take the place of family.
however, returning home meant giving up many things. as ben and i had grown accustomed to our lifestyle in beautiful southern california, going home meant moving back to new jersey. i mean, who chooses to move to new jersey these days??? not many. :) but as we talked and prayed more, we felt even though it wouldn’t be an easy decision, it would be the right decision.
our third child, jacob, was born on june 19. immediately following his birth, we began to seriously pack. as i folded each t-shirt into a cardboard box, i also realized this ‘moving’ thing wouldn’t be so easy this time around. five years ago, we packed belongings for three people. besides clothes and a few personal belongings, there wasn’t much to bring. this time around, we were packing for five people; and all the memories we made in the past five years.
as i sit here and type out these words, the weather is getting chilly and the leaves are turning colors. it is october and we have been back in nj for a few months. these months have been some of the busiest, craziest yet most rewarding times in both ben’s and my life. as we adjust to making this semi-familiar place our new home, being with our loved ones cements in our hearts we made the right choice. as i watch my kids running around the same playground their daddy used to play on and looking out the same lake where their daddy grew up, i know everything will be just fine. we are now home.
“home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.” ~john ed pearce
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tell it! | a wedding giveaway
****This contest is now closed.****
Last year for our wedding giveaway contest, I had so much fun reading through all the lovely emails, the love stories. When we finally decided to choose Katerina as the winner, I knew we were missing out on the opportunity to get to know many other couples. Because I absolutely love weddings, because I absolutely believe each couple has a unique story, I would love to have the opportunity once again to tell your story!
What do you mean??
This is what I mean: Since Image Bearer’s Photography and I have been shooting so many weddings together for almost two years (and we always have so much fun doing so), Sarah and I would love to give away shooting another wedding…your wedding.
That’s awesome! You mean you will shoot a wedding for free?
Absolutely! We will come to your big day and tell your story.*
When can I enter?
The contest starts now, and the last day to enter is Friday, May 27th, 2011.
Who is qualified?
-if you are officially engaged and your planned wedding date falls between April 2012-August 2012
-you must not have a wedding photographer yet
-you understand what we do–we are not just another wedding photography team. As much as we love to shoot weddings, we value relationships and marriages more. While we would love to see your beautiful dress and flowers, we want to get to know you and hear your story.
OK, here are the details:
-This wedding contest is open to everyone whose wedding will be held in the continental United States.
-The contest begins today, Friday, April 29th, 2011, and the last day to enter is Friday, May 27th. Each person may submit only one (1) entry. Please send a brief e-mail along with a fun picture of you and your fiancee to:
tellitgiveaway@gmail.com
-In your e-mail, be sure to write down:
-your names
-the planned wedding date
-where did you hear about this contest?
-location of the wedding
– your view on difference between wedding day & marriage
(both you and your fiancee need to answer)
-where do you see yourself 10 years from now? (again, both you and your fiancee have to answer this)
-why would you like to be the winner of this contest?
-The winner will be announced on June 1st, 2011. We can’t wait to hear your stories!
*Rosina W. Photography and Image Bearer’s Photography will cover the whole entire event on event date at no cost to the winner, this includes traveling and per Diem cost. In addition, the winner will receive 500 images good for up to 8×10 prints.
Tagged contest, givea, Tell it!!, wedding, wedding contest
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be still
Hi everyone…guess what? I’m still alive. The pregnancy nausea had faithfully been right by my side since my last post, and the past few weeks have been horrible for me. For a period of time, I actually lost the desire to even think about shooting. Then December rolled around. I remember it was around this time last year that I really started to push myself into being more creative. I became involved on Flickr and its many wonderful groups. Instead of people, I learned to shoot things. What I didn’t know was learning how to shoot stills helped me get better at shooting people. Who would’ve known? Besides, I’m suffering from cabin fever; shooting stills around my house helps me feel a little bit more useful.
Here are a few from last year:
Here’s why I feel shooting stills helped me learn how to be better at shooting people:
1. I really learned how to use my camera properly (exposure, when to use a higher f-stop, how to adjust white balance manually), since the objects didn’t move.
2. I really learned how to compose each picture. Learning how to compose stills really helped me the art of composition.
3. I really learned how to get it right the first time, by looking through my view finder. Very minimal post-process cropping was done.
4. I really learned how to be creative. After a few times, I got bored looking at the same objects in the same places. So I was forced to think outside of the box by getting myself into shooting from different angles.
5. I really learned to look at everything with a different eye. All of sudden the useless mason jar that’s been sitting on my kitchen counter became a gem when I placed it on the dining room table, collecting gorgeous afternoon light. The box of Cuties clementines all of sudden became something so colorful when placed against my brown placing mat.
You see, you don’t always need to go to a place like Paris to find inspirations. Learning to utilize everything you have around you, learning to be still and shoot stills may open up a whole new world for you. Now, go pick up your camera and find something fun to photograph!
Tagged how to, still photography, stills
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